Christian Order
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Christian Order is a British based monthly magazine for Traditional Catholics.
Originally called The Christian Democrat it changed its name in January 1960. Originally it was edited by the Jesuit priest Father Paul Crane, SJ and is the magazine of the Catholic Social Guild. It is now edited by the Australian layman Rod Pead, who sometimes writes under the pseudonym 'Michael McGrade'.
Originally devoted to the Catholic response to social issues, it started to take an interest in internal church affairs after the Second Vatican Council in 1963. It argued that the Tridentine Mass was being vandalised by many within the English church and that this was the vanguard of "efforts to Protestantise the Faith".
This change of direction caused problems for Father Crane among the administration of the Jesuit Order.
As its focus shifted to internal church matters the church picked up a number of contributors from within Traditional Catholicism and at the same time gained an international reputation.
In recent years, and especially since the death of Father Philip Crane, the magazine has been attracting a reputation for criticism of the hierarchy and, crucially, criticism of conservative Catholics not considered sufficiently traditionalist, often applying the label 'neoCatholic' to these groups. One particular example of this has been the interest shown by many more traditionally minded Catholics in the apparent Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, which Christian Order condemns. Lay movements such as Opus Dei, the Neocatecumenate, the London Faith Forum and Youth 2000 have been condemned by the magazine for a "false orthodoxy".
In recent years there has been a shift from condemnation of the local bishops for ignoring or misinterpreting directions from the Curia in Rome, to a condemnation of the Curia and even the Papacy for its supposed deviations from Traditionalist Catholicism. These actions, and a supposedly lenient attitude towards the schismatic Society of Saint Pius X have led to accusations that Christian Order may be heading towards schism itself.
Unless the Church is militant, She cannot thrive and flourish. Thus Christian Order is a militant antidote to the secular "live and let live" attitude which has brought the Church low. For forty years it has embodied that uncompromising spirit demanded by Pope Leo XIII, who contended that in times of necessity each Catholic is "under obligation to show forth his faith to instruct and encourage other of the Faithful" (Sapientise Christianae).
